Keyboard of musical instruments



Nov. 5, 1935. .G, WQODHOUSE 2,019,640

KEYBOARD OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Filed Nov. 12, 1954 Patented Nov. 5,1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE KEYBOARD F MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS GeorgeWoodhouse, London, England Application November 12, 1934, Serial No.152,774 In Great Britain November 16, 1933 6 Claims.

'I'his invention relates to keyboards for musical instruments and isapplicable in particular to the manufacture of so-called dumb keyboardsused as practising devices and the term musical instrument for thepurpose of this invention is to be construed as including dumbkeyboards.

'I'he keys of musicalA instruments, for example, pianoforte keys usuallyconsist of rigid levers pivotally mounted and capable of moving a cer-10, tain distance about the pivot. The key itself however, is a rigidlever and it is one object of the invention to impart to the surface ofthe key, acertain amount of resiliency which, among other things, maycompensate for any hardness in touch of the performer.

One object of the present invention is to provide a musical instrumentkey, the surface material of which at the position operated on by theperformer, is capable of movement relatively to the top of the key, forexample, consists of resilient material such as spongy rubber, or isresiliently mounted.

A further object of the invention is to provide a dumb keyboard, such asa pianoforte keyboard,

for practising purposes, in which the lever mechanism is dispensed with,the resiliency of the pianoforte keys providing sufficient movement todevelop the idea of touch.

In the case of instruments having lever keys such as the pianoforte itis necessary that the key as a whole, should be rigid-or supported on a.

rigid base carrying the pivot. A lever key, therefore, according to theinvention comprises a resilient material mounted on a rigid base oralternatively a firm or rigid sheet material resiliently mounted on arigid base.

One speciflc construction of lever key suitable for the pianofortecomprises a base portion of wood or metal on which is mounted a strip ofspongy or cellular rubber of about V2 inch thickness. The rubber may besurfaced with a thin sheet of firm or hard rubber or ivory to give it afinished appearance.

If the lever mechanism is dispensed with in a dumb keyboard so that thekey is ixed it enables a very effective device to be constructedexceedingly cheaply because it is not necessary for the white keys to beseparate one from the 50 other and the whole device can be marked out ona continuous strip.

Examples of the invention are shown on the accompanying drawing,whereon:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a pianoforte key 55 constructedaccording to the invention,

Figure 2 is a plan view of a dumb pianoforte keyboard,

Figure 3 is a side elevation of thekeyboard shown in Figure 2, l

Figure 4 is a sectional elevation 'of a modified v construction of dumbkeyboard,

Figure 5 is an elevation of a further modification of a dumb keyboard,part of the keyboard being shown in section.

In Figure 1 the pianoforte key I2 is recessed 10 to receive a sponge orcellular rubber unit corresponding in shape to the piano key. Thevisible part of the key is covered with a surfacing of white rubber II.This surfacing II may be white wood or imitation ivory. The cushion I0inter- 15 posed between the part of the key II which is struck by theplayer and the hammer operating part I2 provides lost motion which willtend to correct or eliminate faulty touch. It will be seen thereforethat the pianoforte key comprises 20 a base part I2, a key-striking partII, and a lost motion connection I0 between the base part and thekey-striking part, whereby the key-striking part may be moved relativelyto the base part during play. 25

In Figures 2 and 3 a sheet of spongy rubber I0 is aiiixed by an adhesiveto a base I3 which may be rigid or semi-rigid. 'Ihe base may beconstructed of hard rubber or three-ply Wood. A surface sheet II isad-fixed on top of the spongy 30 rubber and is divided up by markinglines into sections representing the white keys Il of a pianoforte andthe black keys I8 of a pianoforte. Preferably the divisions areof thesame width as the keys of a pianoforte. The dumb keyboard 35 is formedin sections and any number of these sections may be fastened together tocomprise a full keyboard. For this purpose the base I3 projects beyondthe keyboard at both sides (front and back), and is provided with pressstuds I6 40 two of which on neighboring sections are connected togetherby a link I4 having press fasteners I5` at either end.

In Figure 4 the dumb keyboard is of similar construction to thatdescribed with references to Figures 2 and 3, but in this case eachsection has black keys 20 upstanding from a top surfacing I1 marked outto correspond to the white keys. Each black key is provided with acushion I9 of spongy rubber interposed between the black surfacing 20and the white surfacing I'I. 'I'he sections of the dumb keyboardillustrated in Figure 4 may be joined together in the manner illustratedin Figures 2 and 3.

In Figure 5 the dumb keyboard is made to simu- 55 late more closely apiano keyboard in that the white and black keys are independent of oneanother. ForI this purpose the White keys comprising a White hardsurfacing 23 onl top of a sponge rubber cushion 24 are fixed by anadhesive onto a base 22. As in an ordinary piano keyboard the white keysare recessed to receive black keys having a hard black surfacing 25fixed to a sponge rubber cushion 26. These in turn are xed by anadhesive to the base 22.

The dumb keyboard hereinbefore described has the advantage that it maybe rolled up and packed away in a small space. When in use it will haveto be laid out on a rigid support such as a table. If the individualsections are mounted on a wooden base then they may be hinged together.

I claimt- 1. A dumb keyboard comprising a surface sheet of semi-rigidmaterial marked to simulate a keyboard, a cushion of spongy rubber underthe said surface sheet, and an adhesive connection between the saidsurface sheet and the said cushion.

2. A dumb keyboard comprising a surface sheet of semi-rigid materialmarked to simulate a part i' a piano keyboard, a cushion of spongyrubber under the said surface sheet, an adhesive connection between thesaid surface sheet and the said cushion, a base of semi-rigid materialand an adhesive connection between the said cushion and the said base.

3. A dumb keyboard comprising a surface sheet of semi-rigid materialmarked to simulate a keying hard surfaced cushions superposed on thesaid surface sheet in positions corresponding to the black keys of apiano keyboard and adhesive connections between the said further keysand the surface sheet.

5. A dumb keyboard comprising a plurality of sections each consisting ofa surface sheet of semi-rigid material marked to simulate a keyboard anda cushion of spongy rubber under the said surface sheet, and a base partfor the said cushions, and means on the said base part for coupling anytwo sections together.

6. A dumb keyboard comprising a base part of semi-rigid material, aplurality of cushions of spongy rubber arranged on the said baseboard tosimulate white pianoforte keys, a plurality of cushions of spongy rubberarranged on the said base part intermediate some of the white keys tosimulate black pianoforte keys, and relatively thicker than the whitekeys, and adhesive connections between the said keys and the said basepart.

GEORGE WOODHOUSE.

